Ducati Monster Forum

Pedro's on fire.

Led FP1 by almost a second, leads FP2 by nearly 0.4.

Is Brno a new track to Bautista?  If not, he's got a serious problem on his hands. 

not even barely.  and it's also a very good track for hopper.

FP1 RESULTS

1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.328
2 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:57.294
3 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:57.408
4 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:57.587
5 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:57.776
6 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:57.903
7 John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R 1:58.321
8 Alvara Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R 1:58.345
9 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:58.390
10 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:58.497
11 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:58.819
12 Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:58.927
13 Hector Barbera Aspar Team Ducati GP11 1:58.973
14 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:58.975
15 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:59.289
16 Karel Abraham Cardion AB MotoRacing Ducati GP11 1:59.334
17 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:59.706
18 Toni Elias LCR Honda Honda RC212V 2:00.201


FP2 RESULTS


1 Dani Pedrosa Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.454
2 Casey Stoner Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:56.831
3 Marco Simoncelli San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:57.136
4 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:57.174
5 Andrea Dovizioso Repsol Honda Honda RC212V 1:57.535
6 Ben Spies Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha M1 1:57.631
7 Valentino Rossi Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:57.745
8 Alvara Bautista Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R 1:57.857
9 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:57.859
10 John Hopkins Rizla Suzuki Suzuki GSV-R 1:57.880
11 Hector Barbera Aspar Team Ducati GP11 1:58.120
12 Colin Edwards Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha M1 1:58.313
13 Randy De Puniet Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:58.454
14 Nicky Hayden Ducati Marlboro Ducati GP11 1:58.568
15 Loris Capirossi Pramac Racing Ducati GP11 1:58.573
16 Hiroshi Aoyama San Carlo Honda Gresini Honda RC212V 1:58.607
17 Karel Abraham Cardion AB MotoRacing Ducati GP11 1:58.999
18 Toni Elias LCR Honda Honda RC212V 1:59.157

Surprised to see Karel so far down the pack, I expect him to do well here

must be nerves....

what was the weather?

That's a gaggle of Ducs bringing up the rear in FP1 with a couple of Hondas thrown in there for good measure. I'm surprised Val was able to pull out a decent lap.

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a prediction;


Stoner, Pedrosa and Lorenzo will finish in the top three.  Dovi not far behind.  Simoncelli will crash or finish 6th.  Rossi will pole poorly and move up 5 spots.  Nicky will finish in the same position he poles (8th.)  And so on, and so on, and so on..........


BORING!



For the fans sake, I hope it rains. 



Which race do you guys think Pedrosa will break his hip mounting his bike?  Just kidding.  He's had some rough falls. 

If it rains maybe they can toss out a few cobras on the track... you know, spice it up a little. If Super Sic falls down he'll have to worry about snake bites. ;D

I'm thinking your prediction is probably close to what will happen. Where does The Ben finish? Fifth? First non-alien?

Yes. 

Thanks.  I forgot about him.  He tends to blend in. 

I think Pedro's been looking at Stoner's data and watching video.

He's noticeably sliding the rear now.

Did you see a noticable change in riding style/technique?
You reckon he"s applying some of Stoners technique?

Hopper is out! Broke his finger in FP3  [bang] DANG!

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Hopkins+out+of+Brno+Grand+Prix (http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2011/Hopkins+out+of+Brno+Grand+Prix)

Darn it. I was hoping (hoping Hopper? ;D) that he would get a decent result. Hope this doesn't bugger up his shot at the BSBK title.

Watching FP1, he just had the back end hung out more than I remember him doing before.
Not out as far or as often as Stoner... but Pedro's always been a wheels-in-line guy like Jorge.

Maybe he found the magic zone in bike setup.

Or maybe I'm just imagining things.  [laugh]

Interesting enough GP race. Some decent racing and someone new on the podium for a change. [thumbsup]

Someone wake me in 21 days for the German WSBK race. [laugh]

Wow, only Stoner came through.



Good for Dovi and Simo. 

Have the excuses started to surface?

Lorenzo's and Stoner's bobbles were a bit exciting.  I wouldn't want to be in their shoes at that moment. 

Yeah, with all the bad press (and riding [bang]) lately it is nice to see Super Sic finally podium. [clap] He is a fast, talented rider who deserves a podium here and there. For that matter so is The Ben and he makes a lot fewer dumb mistakes than Simoncelli. I suppose if the Hondas weren't so damn fast Spies might have cracked the top 3 more this year. The Assen win is nice and all I was just hoping for a few podium finishes thrown in there for good measure. I guess there is still some time to get a few. [thumbsup]

Good for Dovi indeed. I like him as a rider. Hopefully his future is bright.

It will be interesting to see what the 1000cc Hondas and Yamahas can do next year. Something tells me it could just be more of the same. And is there any point for Suzuki even showing up in 2012? Why bother? I think we can guess (as in already know [bang]) what the Ducati will do. [roll]

Talk amongst yourselves... ;D

Frankly, I'm getting sick of the Hondas. I know they've earned it with their engineering, blah blah blah, but if someone has to dominate I'd rather it be Ducati  ;D

Me too. I wouldn't even mind Suzook kicking ass for a while. Maybe Kawi will come back and take a title. Wait a minute... there I go again dreaming in colors! [laugh]

Just watched moto2.  Wow those guys get a little close.

They really should come up with a new name for moto2.

That moto2 race was awesome - the top 4 riders exchanged positions on almost every turn in the last 5 laps or so - really exciting stuff.

Motowaymoreexcitingthanthepremireclass?

 [laugh] [laugh]

I love how Bautista and Pedro lost the front and BOOM....done....Jorge lost the front and rode it out on his knee till regaining and that is when Casey came underneath him on the inside and took the lead...

I think Dovi is very deserving of some serious credit for his performance and his consistancy...too bad HRC is too damn focused on Pedro because of a Spaniard and Spanish sponsorship and Stoner due to Suppo....

...or because they're both faster than him.

but i agree, dovi deserves a lot of credit.  i'm sure fausto will give it to him next year.

(that was a great save by george!)

Pretty interesting race.  [thumbsup]

I was glad Simo pulled it out. Lorenzo looked like he was having some issues, but was doing great riding through them...that almost crash looked close though. Great riding.

Stoner.  [bow_down] His wobble was pretty crazy though.

Rossi looked a bit more comfortable...at least it seemed like it. Not comfortable enough though.


But Hopper said the Rizla bike was a "great package".  ;D

Of course Hopper said that. He wants to ride it again. ;D

I was impressed with Hooper's interview during the race.  I think It's the first time he didn't sound like an ungrateful punk pregnant dog.  Almost adult like and thankful to Suzuki. 

I would like to see him ride in motogp. 

Alex De Angelis gets more bonzai crazy with each year.  Marquez's elbow rubbing is pretty much what you'd expect from an 18 y/o.  Frankly, I have no idea how he keeps traction with some of those moves.  It's baffling, but it's not like the bike is totally out of control (for this part of the season, at least).

Oh yeah, and I liked the GP race too.  Super Sic is learning.  Dovi is quietly and boringly successful.  Ben, again, had some reason or another why he wasn't up front.  Smurfy McAsphalt did his thing again -- start fast, go fast, go fast, go fast, and then go fast into the gravel/air fence/ground.  I was surprise at George's tire choice error, though I should have known consider that he poops on the heads of orphan children.    But for fack's sake, why do the announcers keep talking about how this might be the end of the championship for ole Georgie?  There are a billion races left and Casey and George are pretty much one Casey crash from being nearly tied.

He completely locked up the front coming into T11 at Laguna a year or two ago and somehow didn't crash.  It didn't look spectacular, but it remains one of the most amazing things I've seen anyone do on a bike.

I think that when the gap gets over 1 race win's worth of points, they figure it's a lock.
Of course, that's ridiculous.
Pressure is on Jorge for sure, but Stoner can't coast either.

Dovi, Rossi and Nicky are the only ones who've finished every race.

Good point. [thumbsup]

Nothing in racing is ever a lock. I always remember the Andy Granatelli STP turbine Indy race car driven by Parnelli Jones. It was super modern and out of this world in 1967. Jones led 197 out of 200 laps at the Indy 500 that year and a $2 part broke in the tranny on lap 197 and he rolled around to finish 6th. Won't ever forget that one. In any race anything can happen.

Just look at '06 when Nicky was this close to the title, then tangled with Pedrobot. Rossi could have just cruised in the final race and kept Nicky behind him and won it all but he tossed it away. If it wasn't for that extremely rare crash by Rossi he would have won the championship. You'd think that of all racers Rossi wouldn't go down in the last race while leading the championship. Same thing could happen to Stoner if it's close in points. As always, you never know who takes home all the marbles until the fat lady sings.

To me that's what makes the late season runs by racers so much fun to watch. Like Spies in 2009 when he was way down and just kept clawing back for the WSBK title. Gotta love it! [clap] [popcorn] [beer]

they may be 30 seconds behind but that's a far cry from recent ducati seasons

My thought was that there's still a significant chance Casey and/or Jorge will DNF at least one more race this season.

Jorge's less DNF-prone than Casey, at least in the past.  :P

So Casey's 'lock' is pretty flimsy.

Best race of the season so far.

Brno?  I thought laguna was a lot better..

only, other than when he gets knocked down, casey has been pretty bulletproof on that honda.  he no crashy.

I think Laguna was exciting when Jorge and Casey were battling it out, which was not for a very long time. Granted, once Stoner took the lead in Brno, it was over, but second through 6th were relatively close. The battle between Jorge, Dovi and Simo was exciting for quite a few laps. If the Spanish Turd would have kept it upright, I think we would have seen a battle between him and Stoner. In the end, I also give points for having a result different than the usual Stoner/Lorenzo/Pedrosa podium.

Wow!! I knew the results of the Moto2 race and figured it would be exciting to watch but holy shit!! It was one of the best road races I have seen this year! I pissed and moaned last year about the crashfest that Moto2 was... and sometimes still is. But nothing like last year's series. And in this Czech race who gave a shit about 6th place on back? [bang] All the action was with the lead group of 5. With 8 laps to go someone pulled the pin on that grenade and all hell broke out! All poor Luthi could do was sit in 5th and watch the show! Great fairing banging racing to the end. Tons of lead swaps. I loved it!

What would you give to see a MotoGP race end like that? Your soul? A kidney? Your dog? Imagine a race with Stoner, Pedrobot, Dovi, Super Sic, J-LO, The Ben and Rossi racing that close and that hard wheel to wheel to the bitter end? With Edwards and Nicky just barely off the group. In my dreams. [roll] I wish!

Still an awesome race and well ridden by the top 5. I will watch that one again. And again. [thumbsup] [Dolph] [popcorn]

Yes that would be a great race.  But and here's another difference between GP and 2, the whining, pissing and moaning from some of those riders would last for months.  

Babies.

it's almost like they feel that since they came through the smaller series that they are entitled to whine about everything.

Heck, I'd take a MotoGP race with just half that many racers trading paint and elbowing each other for position all the way to the flag. They can piss and moan all they want afterwards. I'd just hit the mute or not read that article! [laugh]

Great race by Iannone!! That took some balls, skill and luck for any one of those guys to win that race! [clap] [popcorn] My question is, with the whole Spaniard-Repsol connection going on what team does Marc Marquez end up on in MotoGP next year? It's a silly season thread question but it bares asking.

The Euro commentators are always mentioning his move to the big class like it's a done deal. Does Repsol-Honda keep a three bike team next year, give Dovi a satellite factory bike and replace him with Marquez? Secondly, how does the youngster do on a new 1000cc MotoGP bike with no 800cc bike race experience. Big move from 600cc bikes to big block prototypes. Or have they secretly been letting him test a 800cc bike since that might not violate MotoGP testing rules for the actual riders and teams in MotoGP? Curious minds want to know. ;D

SpeedTV Czech race coverage question: why did they have annoying American voice over commentating during parts of the MotoGP race and thankfully left it out of the Moto2 race? And also, why didn't they show the after race podium interviews from either race? I know they are quick and not very detailed but a lot of time you get a rider to explain something that happened in a race from their point of view that the commentators didn't see or understand. Oh well... typical SpeedTV coverage. What do I expect. [bang]

I'm just paying the subscription through motogp.com. They show the races down here through ESPN, but of course commentators only speak spanish and they're not as good as the british.

every non-american round is like that.  it's actually a hell of a lot better than listening to greg creamer try to fumblemake the beast with two backs his way through motorcycle commentary.

Those american commentators need burned alive they suck so bad.

I downloaded the american feed once instead of the euro feed.. .

my god what a mistake that was :(

Yes. Last time I listened to it, the American commentary was... lacking.

Tangent: What sort of insane cable or satellite package does one have to buy to get Eurosport and Eurosport 2 in the states?

Probably need your own satellite.

PM Mr Incredible ;D

Why buy the crazy cable when you can download the races and pipe it to your tv?

it's not available here (through normal, uh, channels)

+1 I just watched the Moto2 race last night...great race!!  [bow_down]